Helmes

Ain may have been the world’s youngest builder of algorithms. “I created games for myself as a child,” he says. “I figured out how to most efficiently move toy cars from point A to point B. I constructed lotteries and algorithms and then played the role of the computer. I guess you could say I was a nerd!”

In later life (he’s now 34), Ain moved well beyond toy cars, and, as head of Helmes’ analysis and testing, manages three teams—analysts, testers and UI designers—supporting product development. User requirements are analyzed, the software quality assured through testing, and the clients’ business needs are translated into the business process and technology requirements. “We map existing systems, capture change requirements, and envision the system which is to be.”
One case example is the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority—the government authority responsible for electronic-, railway-, and industrial safety—where a vision was mapped for how four complex government institutions could be combined. “In business analysis,” he says, “you help create order in the client’s mind. You map the existing system and determine what is next wanted or needed. The main goal is to bring order—to clarify thinking.”

What Ain likes best about Helmes is that it’s a small, agile organization. “In a small firm it’s clear that the client’s success is your success. Everything is solutions-oriented, and here you know it’s you who made it happen.”